Proteus Marine Renewables taps into govt-backed Alaska’s tidal power project 

UK-based tidal energy company Proteus Marine Renewables (PMR) has joined the American Tidal Energy Project to help unlock Alaska’s tidal power potential, with the project receiving $3 million in U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) funding to evaluate Ocean Renewable Energy’s (ORPC’s) Cook Inlet site.

Supported by the U.S. DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), the project aims to deploy tidal energy devices in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, an area described by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as holding “some of the largest tidal energy resources of any region on Earth (including about one-third of the United States’ total tidal power).”

Earlier this year, $6 million in funding was split between two marine energy projects by the WPTO, with $3 million going toward the American Tidal Energy Project. This initial phase will focus on evaluating ORPC’s FERC-permitted Cook Inlet site, covering areas like environmental monitoring, licensing, and commercialization.

PMR will work alongside the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and Tidal Energy Corp (TEC) to assist in the selection and qualification of tidal energy technologies. Following the completion of phase one, one of the two projects will be chosen for further development, with the potential to secure up to $29 million in additional funding, said PMR.

Tom Hutchinson, Director of Products & Services at Proteus Marine Renewables, said: “This is a welcome milestone for Proteus and for the future of tidal energy. Cook Inlet holds immense potential, and the American Tidal Energy Project will demonstrate how tidal energy can become a reliable source of clean, sustainable power for coastal communities. We’re excited to collaborate with ORPC, EMEC, and Tidal Energy Corp to bring this vision to life and contribute to the global transition to renewable energy.”

In early September, the UK-based company launched a crowdfunding campaign to support its technology commercialization program. Almost a month later, PMR had its cost reduction projections validated with the European Investment Bank (EIB), confirming that the levelized cost of energy (LCoE) reduction forecasts for its AR3000 tidal energy system are achievable.